Louis and Tawny: Alternative Endings
by tdls
Summary: I've modified/added to the endings of select Even Stevens episodes to give them a (more) romantic twist. LOUIS AND TAWNY FOREVER. (Complete)
1. S1E21: A Weak First Week (Flashback)

Louis and Tawny walked out of the auditorium together. They hadn't exchanged a word since they had been standing together on stage, laughing at the absurdities they had forced Ren to read off the teleprompter.

Tawny didn't quite know what to say to Louis, to be honest. She had found him charming, without a doubt – especially the childishly transparent way he was attracted to her and wanted to be friends with her. He had come to her for help, and she somehow knew it wouldn't be for the last time. He would keep coming to her help, for however trivial reasons, to show her that he liked her, that he needed her, that he wanted to be friends. And she would help him out, to show him that she cared, that she ultimately wanted to be friends just as much. And then… And then perhaps something greater will come out of it all in the end. If it was meant to be, it would happen on its own.

But for now, Tawny didn't mind playing the mean girl at least part of the time. Louis would have to work to win her heart over. And what did he say, after all? The meaner she is to him…

One thing occurred to Tawny before it was time to part ways. "Oh, Louis, have you ever seen the movie _Casablanca_?"

"No, but it sure sounds dorky," was the response.

"There's this brilliant last line in that movie that everyone knows," Tawny said. "It goes, 'Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.'"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Louis asked, a boyish smile forming expectantly on his face.

"Oh, nothing. It's not like you would get it anyway," Tawny responded, with a teasing half-smile, and started to walk away.

Louis called out to her: "Hey, don't forget what I said on the first day! The meaner you are to me..."

"Yeah, yeah," Tawny said to herself, a wide smile forming on her face that she couldn't suppress.


	2. S1E18: Movie Madness

Tawny laughed as the outtakes came to an end. The sight of her in that ridiculous alien costume and green facepaint reminded her how much fun it had all been. Louis's being a jerk had forced her and the others to quit, but the important thing was that Louis realized and admitted his mistake, as she knew he would. All the same, the fact that Louis made her part of something he was so serious about meant something to her. And there was something curiously admirable about Louis's determination to bring such an apparently futile cause to completion – almost like that one time he sat out the 48 hours in the bed for charity. In the end, the movie even had a message about being an outsider that spoke to her.

Louis gave Tawny a sideways glance as she laughed. There was something magical about Tawny, he thought to himself. She always saved the day by being there for him in the end when no one else was, like that night she came to see him while he was sitting out the 48 hours in the bed for charity. Tawny, of all people – such a thoughtful, intelligent, upright person – managed to find something redeemable in his ill-fated schemes. And she was the only one who managed to understand what he was trying to say in the movie. Tawny, of all people. Only someone with her intelligence, her sincerity, and her fondness for him could understand. It made him happy to think that he could speak to such a beautiful mind, to make her laugh, to have her just sitting there next to him.

It struck him that they were still sitting there in that empty theater, an hour after the event had ended, not having exchanged a word since the end of the movie.

"Thanks, Tawny," Louis finally said, breaking the silence. Tawny just smiled back.


	3. S2E1: Starstruck

Louis had calmed down. He was no longer kicking and screaming, but still in disbelief about losing his lucky penny. Louis was alone with Tawny, as he liked to be in moments of emotional distress. She somehow had a soothing effect with her mere presence. Or maybe it seemed so just to Louis. Better still was when she provided him with words of comfort or one of her psychiatric insights.

"So I guess there is no such thing as a lucky penny after all," Tawny said to him with a sympathetic smile.

"There is, Tawny, it's just that I've now lost it," Louis responded, looking down at the ground.

There was a pause. Tawny then asked, "Did you realize that Ruby had a brief crush on you?"

"Ruby?" Louis asked, blankly, not sure how else to react. "You mean, while I was still lucky and all?" he added.

Tawny smiled as she recalled her reaction. "I was his friend before he got lucky," she had said to Ruby. And I always will be even when his luck runs out, she might have added.

"You know, Louis," Tawny said. "It's time to get back down to earth. You can't be lucky forever. And there are going to be people who abandon you once you've fallen back to earth, once your luck runs out. But you should know you'll always have your friends." She then added, in her affectionate, sincere way: "I'll always be there for you, Louis, no matter what."

"Thanks, Tawny," Louis said with a smile, looking into her sparkling eyes.


	4. S2E7: Thin Ice

Louis finally caught up to Tawny on the ice rink. He smiled as he skated up to her. "Hey," he greeted, as if nothing had happened. Tawny made an effort to appear cross over the prank that he had played on her, even though she was smiling on the inside, as she had been the whole time. Louis now added: "Sorry about that. You know how I always have to get the last laugh when it comes to pranks." There was a pause as they skated on in silence. "You know, I really meant what I said about you and your dad teaching me a valuable lesson," Louis added. "And about…wanting to skate with you."

This time, Tawny couldn't prevent a smile from forming on her face. This was the irresistible charm about Louis, she thought to herself. Try as he might to keep a straight face about his pranks, he always succumbed to his fondness for her, his urge to remain in her good graces. She could make certain words come out of his mouth, she could induce moments of seriousness and sincerity from him, just because she was Tawny. At the end of the day, he clearly wanted so much to be with her – and made her want to be with him all the more.

"Okay, but don't even think about offering me your hand," Tawny finally said, teasingly. Louis smiled again, content with her response. They skated on in silence, happy just to be next to each other.


	5. S2E14: Sadie Hawkins Day

Louis and Tawny stepped outside after the dance had ended. There was nothing quite like dancing with Tawny, Louis thought to himself. The best part was that she seemed so happy to be dancing with him, as if the whole misunderstanding had never happened. She could be so forgiving at times, even when he felt he didn't entirely deserve it. She made him feel so special in a way, how she was willing to start all over just for him.

Tawny gave Louis a sideways glance. She recalled the words that had changed her evening. "…And then I messed everything up!" Louis had said, almost helplessly, himself surprised at the words he had just uttered. She marveled at how she could make him admit his mistakes and say the right thing in the end, how she was such a special person to him that he would suspend his usual prankster self just for her.

"You know, Tawny," Louis finally said. "With a friend like you, it's like I don't even need that reset button."

Tawny couldn't suppress a smile, but made an effort to assume her serious, admonishing look. "Next time, let's not make things so complicated, okay?"

Louis smiled and nodded.


	6. S2E16: Wombat Wuv

Louis lay there on Tawny's lap, still reeling from the pain of his fall. His back hurt like crazy. But, he thought to himself, it didn't matter. Because there she was. It was just like the time he first saw her after falling off the flagpole. The pain didn't mean anything to him back then, because the first thing he saw when he looked up was her wondrous face. This time, it wasn't just the sight of her face that swept his pain away like magic. It was the feeling of his head on her lap and the gentle touch of her hands on his arms as she helped him turn over onto his back. Louis closed his eyes again. It was like he was in a dream, feeling no pain at all and an indescribable sense of spiritual fulfillment.

Tawny kept looking at Louis, still not knowing what to say after what he had told her. "You have the two most beautiful eyebrows I've ever seen," the words reverberated inside her head like an echo. The smile that had formed on her face upon hearing those words still hadn't gone away. She knew that the least that she could do for him in return was to stay with him as long as he needed her. She knew that he needed Nurse Phil's attention, but she also knew that, for the moment, he needed her more than anything.

It struck her that she had never felt so needed by anyone as she did that night. She had never felt she could mean so much to someone until Louis came along, someone who would go to lengths just to spend time with her and be her friend. That's why his blowing her off over the past week or so had hurt so much. Yet she understood that the feeling of losing her, her walking away from him earlier that day, had hurt him just as much. He needed her now to show him that he hadn't lost her, that their friendship remained unbroken. She looked affectionately at the precious soul that lay on her lap. _I won't ever lose you, Louis_ , she could hear her heart telling his. _Whatever happens, we'll always find a way back together. We always find a way._ She gave his arms a gentle, heartfelt rub, as if to transmit her affection into his bones, his bloodstream, and eventually his heart.

"Tawny," Louis opened his eyes and mouth simultaneously once more. "I… I just wanted to say I'm sorry about everything."

"Louis," Tawny pronounced her words gently and sincerely. "I forgive you."

Louis shut his eyes again. There was nothing more that he could ask for. Her wondrous sight, her gentle touch – but also her soothing words, and the secure knowledge of their unbreakable friendship.


	7. S3E1: The Kiss

Louis waited outside for Tawny as the audience slowly filed out of the building. She had been magnificent that night. The star of the show, in fact. All sealed with a kiss – with Zach, in the role of her husband. Louis couldn't help but cringe slightly when he saw their lips meet on stage. And the look on Tawny's face – it almost looked like love. But maybe that was just a sign of how good her acting was, Louis tried to think. That's how she had reassured him earlier in her irresistible way. "Besides, there's only one person that I really want to kiss," she had told him. How could he not believe her when she said those words? The best policy, Louis figured, was to just trust her and let her do her thing. This play meant a lot to her, after all, and what could make him happier than her own happiness?

"Hey," Tawny called out as she finally came out and spotted Louis. She had an affectionate smile on her face, the one he had grown so accustomed to seeing ever since they had been together. Louis forgot momentarily about his thoughts and smiled back. Tawny came up to him and took both his hands in hers.

"You were great up there," he whispered, her face now just inches away from his. Tawny said nothing – nothing but the thousand words that her magnificent smile kept saying to him – and pulled him into a kiss. It was her turn to give him a surprise kiss – in fact, it was the first time they had kissed at all since that day in the cafeteria. Not that it came totally unexpected for him once she had drawn close to him; but given that she had been up on stage kissing another guy just minutes ago and all the worries that this had unleashed in his mind, it wasn't totally expected either.

"Thanks so much for being okay with this," Tawny said finally. "I knew you could do it. You remember how I said there's only one person that I really want to kiss?" she asked, visibly pleased with herself.

Louis nodded, at the same time allowing his eyes to wander away from the face he liked so much and down onto the ground. "You know, Tawny…" he started. He had to get it off his chest. "I was really worried. I was sitting there fidgeting like a maniac. I had to put on an imaginary straitjacket to prevent myself from sneaking up there, stealing Tom's costume, and crashing the ending!" He paused. He then blurted out, without giving it much thought: "Especially after that kiss you gave Zach. It looked like you were actually enjoying it!"

Tawny looked at him and took a deep breath. "Louis," she said. "Let me begin by telling you something you don't know. You know how I practiced the kissing scene after Ren introduced it just two days before the actual play? I imagined doing it with you. I even placed a picture of you in my room and rehearsed the scene on it. I did this over and over the last few days, Louis."

Louis stood there staring at her, stunned.

Tawny continued. "When I say there's only person that I really want to kiss, I really mean it, Louis. I wouldn't let anyone else come between me and you. And if such a thing were to happen I would be the first to tell you."

Louis fought back the tears welling up in his eyes. Tawny put him to shame, how she could be so mature and cool in a way he could never be, how deep her affection for him really was. How she was so much better than him, yet how she liked him so much no matter what. And to think that he had doubted her…

"I really appreciate your being okay with everything, in spite of all the conflicting thoughts you had. It really means a lot to me. I know you did it for me, fighting back your urge to be the play-crasher like that." She gave him another smile, a more modest one this time, but no less sincere, no less powerful.

Louis was fighting back the tears when his family called, reminding him it was time to get home. The two of them exchanged a simple but heartfelt hug before they parted ways.


	8. S3E9: Short Story

Louis made a deep sigh as he approached Tawny, who was standing by her locker, on Monday morning. He was still licking his wounds from a miserable week, a week in which his evil twin, Loomis Freeman, had gotten him into all sorts of trouble. The worst of them all, of course, was when Loomis danced the night away with Tawny on Friday after having outmaneuvered him with the water balloon. There couldn't have been a worse insult added to injury.

"Tawny, hi," Louis greeted. "Hi, Louis," she responded with a smile. Where to start? Louis knew he had to set matters straight with her, somehow.

He decided to do it by getting straight to the point. "Look, Tawny," he said. "The guy you danced with on Friday night wasn't me. It was my evil twin, a jerk named Loomis Freeman."

Tawny gave him a blank stare. "Your evil twin?" she asked finally. What was this about? All she knew was that she had a great time with him that night. Did Louis have to make things so complicated again?

Louis took a deep breath, getting ready to explain the story for the umpteenth time. "When kids from that other school were here last week there was one of them who looked exactly like me and was even more of a prankster." He took out the photo from his pocket, which he had been carrying around as evidence. "He got me into all sorts of trouble with his silly pranks, with everyone thinking it was me. That got me kicked out the dance, and he pretended to be me while he was dancing with you."

Tawny stared at the photo that Louis had produced for her, not sure what to think. "Louis, what is this about an evil twin? All I remember from last week is that you were getting into trouble for pranks, which is nothing out of the ordinary, right?" She looked at him half teasing, yet still half confused.

"Come on, Tawny!" Louis exclaimed, exasperated. "Didn't you notice how weird the guy you were dancing with was acting? How could you think that could possibly be me? Don't you know me well enough to know better?"

"Oh, I'm…sorry, Louis," Tawny stammered, genuinely taken aback. She then said: "All I was thinking was how much I enjoyed dancing with you, how you always make me forget how lame those dances are, how you make me so happy sometimes…" She stopped. She was being sincere, of course, but she could not help but be surprised by her own openness.

It was Louis's turn to be taken aback. He just stared at Tawny, disoriented, not sure how to respond. "Oh, no, don't worry about it…" he said finally. He knew that couldn't have been his last word, yet he realized that he couldn't muster a more sincere answer.

The bell rang. "I… I got to get to class…" Louis muttered. Tawny looked at him as he dashed off, a meaningful smile on her face.


	9. S3E11: Hardly Famous

Louis approached Tawny at her locker the next day as she was picking up her things, just as in their last two conversations. This time Louis was more hesitant than ever, unsure whether he should say anything. The silence of their goodbye the day before had somehow felt golden, the meaningful smile that she had given him all the more so. Tawny, for some reason or another, had chosen not to reveal to him the real reason for not going to SACCY. Perhaps it was best this way, Louis thought, with him knowing it and her not knowing that he knew.

The debate played out in Louis's mind one final time as he stopped a few feet before Tawny's locker. No, he had to say something. He had to let her know how much it meant to him that she was staying, ultimately just for him.

"Hey," Louis greeted, somewhat nervously, just like the last two times. "Hi," Tawny greeted back. This time she looked up and smiled at him, that same uncanny smile she had given him in the parking lot yesterday. Louis froze momentarily at the sight of her smile, the smile that seemed to be telling him so many things. He then regained his composure, trying to think only about what he had set out to tell her.

"Listen, uh… I just wanted to say thanks for deciding to stay. It really means a lot to me."

"There's no reason to thank me, Louis, I–" Tawny stopped. The look on Louis's face told her that he knew. For a few moments the two just stared at each other, uncertain what to say and waiting for the other to say something.

"You know, I think I've finally figured out what it is that I care about," Louis finally blurted out, desperate to break the silence. "I care about…you. That's why I did this whole annoying thing of trying to get you not to go. I'm sorry. I thought I was going to lose you, I really did." There. He had said everything there was to say, revealing himself more than he would have liked to in the process.

Tawny just stared at him for a moment, the look on her face betraying her surprise at his openness. Of course, she knew it without him telling her. She knew the moment she saw Louis up there auditioning and Ren told her in thinly veiled terms why he was doing it. Yet it was different hearing it now coming out of Louis's mouth, hearing him tell her how much she meant to him. Suddenly, she felt the urge to tell him how much he meant to her, to tell him what he didn't know, so that he wouldn't be the only one to have made himself vulnerable.

"Louis," Tawny said. "That poem that I recited at the audition… Do you know who it was actually about?" She looked deeply into his eyes, as if she was somehow searching for stars in a night sky. "It was about you, Louis. The best friend that I thought I had lost earlier that day. But when I saw you up there auditioning, I understood how much I mean to you. And how much you mean to me." There. She had said it.

Louis stood there staring at her, stunned. He recalled the words of Tawny's poem. Not a day goes by I don't think about him… No, it couldn't be. He could feel his head spinning at the thought of what all this meant.

Just then the bell rang. Louis and Tawny were still staring at each other, not knowing what else to say. Tawny knew she had to do the only thing she knew how to do in this situation. She gave him a smile, the same meaningful smile she had given him yesterday. Louis just smiled back. They parted ways, slowly and reluctantly, knowing that there was still more to be said, but that it would have to wait until another day. And they knew that that day would come, eventually.


	10. S3E22: Leavin' Stevens

Louis and Tawny walked out onto the cafeteria, their hands held. They had been holding hands the whole time, not saying a word. It was a truly golden silence, a silence that allowed them to take it all in, the feeling of each other's hands, the feeling of knowing at last what they felt for each other.

They finally sat down at a table, next to each other, just the two of them. As pleasant as that long silence had been, Louis knew that it was now time to break it.

"Tawny, I–"

"Louis." Tawny interrupted before he could say anything else. Her lips formed into her characteristically unassuming yet beautiful smile. "I think… I think something flew in my eye."

"In your eye?" Louis asked, blankly, not knowing how to respond. Then it dawned on him. "Oh." He leaned in, slowly and gently, and gave her a kiss. This time she was ready for it, unlike that unforgettable day they kissed for the first time in the cafeteria. How long ago it all seemed! She now kissed him back, caressing him, letting him know that she wanted it as much as he did. They kissed for what seemed like a momentary eternity, as everything seemed to stop around them to allow them to relish this moment. Then they drew back, as slowly and gently as they had leaned in, savoring the feeling of each other's lips that reverberated like a pleasant aftershock.

"Now I know what it was that flew in my eye," Tawny said, with a playful look. "It was the sight of you."

"I had no idea you were such a romantic, Tawny," Louis responded slowly, his smile mirroring hers. He might have added: I had no idea you cherished that moment – the moment of our first kiss – in your heart as much as I did in mine. But then, I had no idea you loved me as much as I loved you…

"I'm a poet, remember?" Tawny reminded him. At this point the two were just staring fondly at each other, their smiles refusing to go away, their minds buzzing with so many thoughts at once, so many things they wanted to say to each other. Where to start? Yet they both knew that they had to take it slowly, one thought at a time. And this had already been a great start, a sign that their hearts were beating along the same wavelength.

* * *

Louis and Tawny were seated on a park bench. They were taking a pause of silence from their conversation. They had been sitting there for hours after school ended, talking, laughing, and opening up their hearts to each other like never before. It had become clear to them that lunch period, as magical as it had been, wouldn't suffice. That was always the problem with lunch period.

"You know, Tawny," Louis started. "You remember the time we first saw each other after I fell off the flagpole?"

"I think we both remember it all too well, Louis," Tawny responded, recalling how magically their thoughts had converged around that memory in their tapes.

"After that incident I had to go to Wexler's office to give an explanation," Louis said. "He wanted to know why I would do such a thing. I told him, truthfully, about the youngest sibling complex I've been carrying around my entire life. You know, how my entire family is all accomplished and I'm the kid brother who isn't good at anything. I told Wexler that the stunt was a way of telling the school who I am."

Louis paused. He smiled slightly and continued. "Wexler then said to me, 'We may not know what you're good at yet, but we'll find something.' I remember those words exactly. At the time I didn't make much of it, thinking it was just schoolmaster's nonsense."

Louis now looked up and straight into Tawny's eyes. "And you know what? He was right. And the flagpole thing worked perfectly. Because of it I got to meet you. And I did eventually accomplish something, which was getting together with you. The way I could make you laugh at my silly jokes, spend time with me on my silly pet projects, help me out with my silly problems, dance with me at silly dances – that's something I've gotten good at like no one else. My greatest accomplishment is getting you to love me as much as I love you, Tawny. A wonderful, intelligent, upright person like you, who could have had anyone your heart desired. That's something I have that not even Ren and Donnie have."

Tawny looked deeply into Louis's eyes, visibly touched by what he had just said. There were still so many things she needed him to know, but she wasn't quite sure where to begin. "Louis," she took a deep breath and started. "You may not know this, but... Outside of my family, you're the greatest thing that has ever happened to me. Ever since the day we first met, you made me feel liked and wanted in a way that no one else has. The way you made me a part of everything you were determined to accomplish, beginning with that Larry Beale speech. The way you came to me for advice, confided in me, and leaned figuratively on my shoulder. The way you were always so keen on being with me at dances but were so charmingly shy about it at times…" she paused. Then she said finally: "I really couldn't have asked for a more wonderful person to love and be loved by, Louis."

Louis was fighting back the tears, as he had done so many times in front of Tawny. But this time, he understood that he could let them flow and fall into the loving arms that were ready for him. There was no more need to fight back. He let the tears flow and embraced Tawny, who embraced him back. Silent tears flowed down Tawny's cheeks and eventually onto Louis's shoulder, letting him know that she felt the same way. The two lovers sat there, holding each other in their arms for what seemed like a momentary eternity, determined to never let go.


End file.
